Monash Health employees now have access to Covidence – web based software for research teams that assists with the screening of references and data extraction, particularly for systematic reviews. Request access by emailing library@monashhealth.org.

A new library guide is available on our website for all aspects of publishing including journal rankings, the peer review process, scholarly writing, open data and open access.

It was Kidney Health Week from 15-21 March 2021…

Browse library resources in our Nephrology library guide.  eBooks listed in the guide include Palliative care in Nephrology which guides readers through the core skills needed to deliver care to patients facing end-stage kidney disease, and Kidney Transplantation Principles and Practice – an essential text covering organ preservation, immunosuppression and surgical techniques.

An editorial published in the Journal of Nephrology highlights a link between COVID-19-related AKI recoverees and increased risk of progressive Chronic Kidney Disease. Evaluation of renal function in COVID-19 survivors will be important moving forward.

What are the attitudes of Australian nephrologists in relation to clinical genomics? This article in Kidney International Reports asks exactly that. Genomic testing is becoming more accessible and while nephrologists recognise its usefulness, uptake is low.

Health care professionals need time to recover from the strain of pandemic activities, say NHS Confederation leaders in the BMJ. Setting realistic standards of practice moving forward is essential to ensure workers remain healthy and happy.

As COVID-19 vaccines rollout the APO (Australian Policy Online) has published a position paper supporting the Australian program. Evidence from Israel and the UK is revealing a reduction in COVID-19 hospitalisation and severe disease. Another UK study suggests that booster vaccines may not be necessary for those previously infected with the virus. Where hesitancy remains, the NEJM recommends drawing lessons from the past: Vaccinating Children against Covid-19 - The Lessons of Measles.

With hypertension being prevalent in patients presenting with COVID-19, this study focuses on how pre-existing hypertension may impact on a patient's condition and COVID-19's associated symptoms. The findings may surprise you.

Continuing to assume same standard body temperatures could result in false negatives for COVID-19 temperature screening or a failure to recognise fevers in patients. This PlosOne article calls for temperature personalisation. 

• Transformative changes for critical care arising from the COVID-19 pandemic are contemplated in an article from the latest edition of Intensive Care Medicine, which states: “By meeting these challenges today, we will be able to provide better care to future patients.”
   
• The promise of open access has been apparent in the response to COVID-19. Conversely the problem of predatory journals has increased with the urgent need for early and rapid dissemination of information. A recently published flowchart for selecting journals provides assistance to researchers.
   
• Under pressure to publish? Beware of predatory journals! This study in the Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences, found relatively poor awareness regarding predatory journals among medical students.
   
• American Journal of Psychiatry article Two Decades of Anxiety Neuroimaging Research looks at research involving anxiety-related functional neuroimaging. It observes a number of findings that will improve understanding about effective treatments for anxiety.
   
• In the BMJ A/Prof Gyorgy Scrinis discusses nutritionism and the legitimisation of ultra-processed foods, corporate research funding bias and re-framing of existing nutritional models. He calls for independent research and tighter labelling regulations. 
   
• A study on evening blue-depleted light environments found that it is possible to create a hospital light environment that has a positive impact on the circadian systems and sleep without adverse side effects. It recommends designing hospital units according to chronobiological principles.